Means for locking and unlocking doors



G. R. PYKNEN MEANS FOR LOOKING AND UNLOCKING DOORS April 2, 1960 4 Sheets-She 1 Filed July 19 1956 V W. M mw kw? L 0. @w .l.\\ m 70 WA/ 0/ J /l8/9 7 Z Z J itg 5,.,m f: 5:7 2

April 12, 1960 G. R. PYKNEN MEANS FOR LOCKING AND UNLOCKING DOORS Filed July 19, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 JFZ 1 6702297 @161 April 12, 1960 cs. R. PYKNEN MEANS FOR LOCKING AND UNLOCKING DOORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 19, 1956 A fl 6 3i) 2% m 7 1 (if v, @g 6 32 5 6 3 Q w 6 Z 7 1 F 6 7 ly x. uw

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G. R. PYKNEN 2,932,536

MEANS FOR LOCKING AND UNLOCKING DOORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 7 7Q A1], A Q@ 2 v MW M H w April 12, 1960 Filed July 19, 1956 United States Patent MEANS FOR LOCKING AND UNLOCKING nooRs George R. Pyknen, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Variety Manufacturing & Engineering Co., Inc., a corporation of Illinois Application July 19, 1956, Serial No. 598,851

3 Claims. (Cl. 2512-21) This invention relates to improvements in the means for locking and unlocking doors.

This invention deals with doors which employ panic bars and the like, namely doors used in schools, auditoriums, theatres, factories and the like which when key locked from the outside may nevertheless be opened from the inside without the use of a key.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide improved means for operating a door equipped with a panic bar.

Another object of this invention is to provide a door construction having a panic bar which when actuated will unlock the door so that it may be readily opened, and which has means for unlocking the door from the outside by a key. When the door is locked it still may be unlocked from the inside by depressing the panic bar. When actuated to unlocking position by a key it remains in unlocked position to be readily opened from the outside or inside of the room.

Another object is to provide new and improved means in association with a door which may lock or unlock the door and which may be readily operated from the inside, of the room by depressing a member even when the door is locked from the outside.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for maintaining the locking means in retracted or unlocking position when the door is swung away from the door jamb, which locking means are moved to locking position when the door engages the door jamb.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a door with this invention as viewed from inside the room.

Fig. 2 is a view partly in section taken from the rear of the door.

Fig. 3 is a view partly in section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with the parts actuated to unlocking position by the key lock.

Fig. 4 is a view of the dotted line portion of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but with the parts actuated to locking position by the key lock.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but with parts in locked position.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but with the parts operated to unlocking position by the panic bar.

Fig. 8 is a view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 9 is a view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. ;10 is a view taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 11 is a view taken on line 11-11 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 12 is a View taken on line 12-12 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 13 is a view taken on line 13-13 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 14 is a View taken on line 14-14 of Fig. 13 showing the key lock and parts in position for unlocking the door.

Fig. .15 is a view similar to Fig. 13 but with the key lock and parts in position for locking the door.

Fig. 16 is an enlarged view of the upper locking "2,932,536 Patented Apr. 12, 1960 member showing the latching tongue in a retracted intermediate position.

Fig. 17 is a view taken on line 17-17 of Fig. 16.

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the key lock member and the means actuated thereby, and

Fig. 19 is a view taken on line 19-19 of Fig. 2.

The door is generally indicated by the numeral 20 and said door is made preferably of aluminum or like material and has a rectangular shaped door frame having a front or lock stile 22, a back or hinge stile 24, a top rail 26 and a bottom rail 28. The lower portion of the door frame supports a panel 30 and the upper portion supports a frame 32 for supporting a series of Windows The hinge stile 24 supports hinges 34 which are secured to the door jamb for hingedly supporting the door.

The front stile 22 is provided with spaced front and rear Walls 36 and 38 and spaced side walls 39 and 40 to provide a hollow interior for housing the structure of this invention. Secured to the rear wall 38 of the front stile 22 of the door frame below the vertical center thereof is a housing 42 the interior of which communicates through an enlarged opening 43 in the rear wall 38 with the interior of the front stile 22.

While a particular door construction is described it will be understood that this invention may be used with any type of door made of any material, provided that the front stile of the door is hollow or tube-like so that it can accommodate the mechanism described. Also while a single door is described it will be understood that a pair of doors may be mounted adjacent each other to close a wide door opening with each door constructed as shown herein.

Secured to housing 42 (Figs. 4, l0 and 11) is a U shaped bracket 45 which has a pair of spaced side walls 46 with openings 47 through which extends a pin 48 which pivotally supports an upper gear member generally indicated at 50. The upper gear member 50 includes a portion having a plurality of teeth 52 and extending rearwardly therefrom is an extension or arm 53 which is pivotally secured as by a pin 54 to an upper clevis 56 (Figs. 4 and 9). The end of the extension 53 fits between the bifurcated ends 57 of the clevis. Threadedly secured as at 58 to said upper clevis 56 (Figs. 4 and 9) is an upper rod 69. The upper end of said rod is threadedly secured as at 62 to a block (Figs. 16 and 17) generally indicated at 64, which supports a pair of spaced pins 65 and 66 mounted on the side thereof. The block 64 moves vertically with the movement of the upper rod 60. The upper end of the block 64 has a latch tongue 67 (Figs. 1, 5 and 16) which passes through an opening 27 in the top rail 26 of the door.

Supported in the upper portion of the front stile 22 of the door frame and to the side of the block 64 is a release housing generally indicated at 68 (Figs. 3,, 16 and 17) which is secured by screws 76 to a top guide plate 72 in turn secured to the rear wall 38 of the front stile 22. The release housing 68 has an opening 74 in the rear thereof in alinement with an opening 76 in the rear wall 35 for the passage of the L shaped tongue 76' of the release lever generally indicated at 75. The release lever '75 is pivotally (Figs. 16 and 17) supported on a pin 77 which in turn is secured to the side walls of the release housing 68. A coil spring 80 is supported in a recess 81 in the front wall of the release housing 68 and engages the release lever to normally urge it to pivot to the rear as shown in Figs. 3 and 16. When the release lever 75 is in this position, the lower end of the release lever will engage the upper pin 65 to prevent upward movement of the block 64 and rod 60. This is the position of the parts when the tongue 76' of the release lever 75 is not in engagement with the door jamb as shown in Fig. 3. However, when the door is closed against the jamb (Figs. and 1.6) the tongue 76 of the release lever will engage the jamb to be pivoted forwardly to disengage the upper pin 65 to permit the block 64, latch tongue 67and rod 65) to move upwardly. The latch tongue 67 will engage a recess 82 in the door jamb to lock the door. An adjusting screw 84 is secured in the front wall of the release housing 68 for engagement with the release lever 75 to limit the movement of said release lever.

Mounted on the side walls 46 of the bracket 45 in the housing is a pin 86 which pivotally supports a lower gear member generally designated at 88 which is similar to the upper gear member 50 previously described. The teeth 8910f the lower gear member'are in constant mesh with the teeth 52 of the upper gear member 50. The lower gear member 88 has an extension or arm 90 which is pivotally secured by a pin 92 to a clevis 94. A lower rod 96 has its upper end threaded as at 97 to threadedly engage the clevis 94 (Figs. 4 and 9). Secured to the lower end of the lower rod 96 is a bottom latching bolt 98 which passes through an opening 100 in a bottom plate 1692 extending across the bottom rail 28 of the door frame and suitably secured thereto. The latching bolt 98 engages a recess 104 in the threshold for locking the bottom of the door thereto. A bracket 166 issecured to the bottom plate 102 and said bracket has an opening 107 in the lower horizontal end wall to permit passage of the latching bolt 98. The upper end of the bracket is bent inwardly to provide an upper horizontal end wall 108 and same has an opening 169 to accommodate the lower rod 96. A coil spring 105 is positioned on the rod 96 and is positioned between the end wall 108 of the bracket 166 and the top of the bottom latching bolt 98 to normally urge the lowerrod and bottom latching bolt 98 downwardly as seen in Fig. 5 so that same is in locking position. Simultaneously the upper rod 60 and the latching tongue 67 will through the engagement of the gear members '50 and 88 be caused to move upwardly in the locking position.

Pivotally supported in the lower end of the housing 42 is' an arm (Figs. 4 and 12) generally indicated at 110 which is pivotally supported 011 a cross pin 112 secured to the side walls of said housing. The arm extends through an opening 114 in. the housing and has an inclined nose portion 116 which is engaged bya spring biased plunger 118 to normally maintain the arm in the position shown in Fig. 4. The plunger 118 is slidably supported in a bracket 120 (Fig. 4) secured inside the housing 4-2 and the bottom of the plunger is provided with an enlarged head 119 having a tapered end which engages the nose 116 of the arm 110. A coil spring 121 surrounds the plunger and is positioned between the bracket 126 and the head 1 19 to normally urge the plunger downwardly to maintain the arm 110 in the position shown in Fig. 4. The arm is provided adjacent the outer end of the nose with an abutment 122 which is adapted to engage the lip 123 of the lower clevis 94 for the purpose of elevating same as will be described. A dogging screw 124 is secured to the housing 42. to engage the arm 118.

A housing 126 is mounted on the back stile 24 of the dooras shown in Figs. 1 and 19 and said housing supports a cross pin 128 on which is pivotally mounted an arm 130 similar to the arm 110 previously described. A spring biased plunger 132 acts on said arm similar to plunger 118 previously described. A dogging screw 134 similar to dogging screw 124 is also provided. The dogging screws 124 and 134 are adjustable to engage the arms 110 and 138 respectively. When the dogging screw 124 is adjusted upwardly as in Fig. 8, it will pivot the arm 110 downwardly orclockwise so that the abutment 122 remains in engagement with the lip 123 of clevis 94 to raise the lower rod 96 and through the gear members ghe ppper rod 69 will be retracted, thus the bottomlatching bolt 98 and top latch tongue 67 are withdrawn to maintain the door in unlocked position so it may be opened from either the inside or outside without using a key or depressing the panic bar. The arm 118 and the arm 138 support a cross bar or panic bar 135 and said arms are normally positioned as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 to support the cross bar in an elevated position as shown. When it is desired to open the door from the inside of the room the cross bar 135 is depressed as shown in Fig. 7 which pivotally moves the arms and to the position shown in Fig. 7. The arm 110 acts against the lower clevis 94 to elevate same and withdraw the bottom latching bolt 98 from the recess 104 of the door jamb. Simultaneously through the gear members 50 and 88 the upper latching tongue is withdrawn from the recess 82 in the upper jamb.

For the purpose of operating the mechanism through the key operating unit a key operated unit generally indicated at 136 is provided (Figs. 3, l3, l4, l5, 18). A plate 138 is attached to the front Wall 36 of the front stile 22 by a suitable bolt 140 and said plate supports a standard cylinder lock 142 which extends through an opening in the front wall 36 into the interior of the housing. A ring 144 is secured to plate 138 and surrounds the part of the cylinder lock 142 which extends into the door housing and is secured thereto.

The standard cylinder lock 142 has a cam member 146 which extends rearwardly of the cylinder lock and which as understood in the art is rotated when a key is inserted in the lock and rotated.

An adaptor 148 fits on the cam member 146 and rests adjacent the rear of the cylinder lock. The adaptor 148 is recessed as at 150 so that it accommodates the cam member 146 therewithin and is also provided with a pin 152 at the lower end thereof to confine the cam member always within the adaptor 148 so that the two always move together when the cam member is actuated by the turning of the key when in the cylinder lock. Pivotally secured as at 153 to the adaptor 148 is a release arm 154. The lower end 156 of the release arm 154 is formed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the release arm and is slotted as at 158 to freely embrace the upper rod 60. Fixedly secured to the plate 138 below the cylinder lock is a pair of spaced guide plates 160 between which the release arm 154 is positioned. By rotating the key in the cylinder lock 142 the cam member 146 is operated to impart an eccentric pivoting action to adaptor 148 which in turn moves the release am 154 from its normal up or looking position shown in Figs. 7 and 15 to its down or unlocking position shown in Figs. 3 and 13.

The key for the cylinder lock can only be inserted in the cylinder lock and removed therefrom when the cam member 146 is in the up position as shown in Figs. 7 and 15. correspondingly the release arm 154 will be in p position as shown in said figures. When the release arm 154 is in its up position it has no efliect on the upper rod 60 which it embraces, consequently the top latch tongue 67 and bottom latching bolt 98 are in extended locking position and the door may be opened from the inside of the room by depressing the panic bar 135. Thus at all times when the key is out of the cylinder lock the parts will be in the position just described and the door will be in a locking position.

To open the door from the outside, the cam member 146 on the cylinder lock is rotated by the key from the position shown in Figs. 7 and 15 to that shown in Figs. 3 and 13. In this instance an eccentric pivoting action is imparted to the adaptor {148 which lowers the release arm 154 where it engaged to depress the top clevis 56 to withdraw the upper latch tongue 67 and simultaneously through the gear members to withdraw the bottom latching bolt 98. Thus the door may be opened. T0 withdraw the key from the cylinder lock, the cam member must be rotated to position the parts as shown in 5 and 15'.

Operation To lock the door so that it cannot be opened from the outside the key is removed from the cylinder lock 142 and the parts will be in the position shown in Figs. 5 and 15. In this position the release arm 154 is in its elevated position and the lower end 156 of the release arm is out of engagement with the clevis 56 connected to the upper rod 60. The upper and lower rods 60 and 96 respectively are in their outermost positions as shown in Fig. 5 due to the pressure of the spring 105 acting against the bottom latching bolt 98. Since the gear mem bers 50 and 88 are in constant engagement the upper rod 60 will be maintained in its outermost upward position and the latch tongue 67 thereon will be extended through the top of the top rail 26 keeping the door locked and unopenable from the front without the key. The door however may be opened from the inside of the room by depressing the panic bar 135. By depressing the bar 135, the arm 110 is pivoted so that the nose 1 16 of the arm acts against the tension of the plunger 113. The abutment 122 on the nose will engage the lower clevis 94 and lift the lower rod 96 upwardly against the tension of the spring 105 on the lower rod 96. The upward movement of the lower rod 96 will through the gear members 50 and 88 cause the upper rod 60 to simultaneously move downward, thus simultaneously retracting the bottom latching bolt 98 and the upper latch tongue 67 to permit the door to be pushed open. As the door is pushed away from the door jamb, the spring 86 will pivot the release lever 75 to the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the lower end of the lever engages the upper pin 65 on the block 64 of the upper rod 60 to maintain the upper and lower rods in their retracted positions. Thus the upper latch tongue 67 and the bottom latching bolt 98 will be in retracted position so as not to interfere with the opening swinging movement of the door. When the door is released for closing, and the L-shaped tongue 76 of the release lever engages the door jamb again as in Fig. 5, the release lever will be pivoted, disengaging it from the pin 65 and when this occurs the spring 105 will urge the lower rod 96 downwardly and through the gear members will urge the upper rod upwardly as previously described to lock the door. Thus it will be seen that the door may be opened from the inside through depressing the cross bar 135 when the door is locked from the outside.

Fig. 16 shows the release lever 75 engaging the pin 66 on the block 64 to hold the latch tongue 67 and the bottom latching bolt 98 in a retracted intermediate position, that is the latch tongue 67 and the latching bolt 98 are withdrawn sufiiciently to permit the door to be opened but are not as fully withdrawn as when the release lever 75 engages the pin 65. This intermediate positioning of the release lever 75 occurs when the panic bar 135 is not fully depressed such as might happen when pushed down by a small child or as would occur when the panic bar is pushed down slightly and simultaneously a greater push is exerted against the door in pushing it open.

When it is desired to open the door from the outside by a key, the cylinder lock 142 is rotated by the key to position the cam as shown in Figs. 3 and 13, the release arm 154 is lowered so that the lower end 156 of the release arm bears against the upper clevis 56 to lower same and with it the upper rod 69 and pivot the upper member 53 downwardly causing the lower gear member 88 to pivot upwardly and elevate the lower rod 96, simultaneously withdrawing the upper latch tongue 67 and the bottom latching bolt 98 from the jamb to permit opening of the door.

If it is desired to maintain the latch tongue 67 and latching bolt 98 in retracted position so that the door may be opened from the outside without a key or from the inside without depressing the panic bar, the dogging screws 124 and 134 are adjusted upwardly so that the arm is pushed so that its abutment 122 engages the lower clevis 94 to urge it upwardly and maintain it in this position. This will retract and keep retracted the top latch tongue 67 and bottom latching bolt 98 and also prevent movement of the upper and lower rods, conse quently when the door closes against the jamb the pivoting movement of the release lever 75 will have no elfect on the release of the upper rod as previously described. Thus the upper latch tongue 67 and the bottom latching bolt 98 will not be in engagement with their respective keepers in the door jamb and the door may be readily pushed open from either side.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made from the foregoing without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In locking means for a door which is hingedly secured to a door jamb, said locking means comprising a pair of gear members in constant mesh, means for supporting each gear member on a separate pivot, each of said gear members having an arm extending laterally therefrom, an upper rigid rod secured to one of said arms and a separate lower rigid rod secured to the other of said arms, each of said rods supporting a latching memher, a spring associated with one of said rods for normally urging both said rods simultaneously outward to maintain said latching members in latching position, a manually actuated panic bar extending across the door, said panic bar having means engaging one of said rods for simultaneously retracting both said rods inwardly toward each other with their respective latching members while compressing said spring to release said door for opening, and means associated with said upper rod for engagement with the door jamb and adapted when said rod is retracted and said door is moved to open position away from said door jamb to maintain said upper and lower rods and their latching members in retracted position, said means adapted to engage said door jamb when said door is moved to closing position to release said rods and their respective latching members for movement to their outward position to lock the door.

2. In locking means for a door which is hingedly secured to a door jamb, said locking means comprising a pair of gear members in constant mesh, means for supporting each gear member on a separate pivot, each of said gear members having an arm extending laterally therefrom, an upper rigid rod secured to one of said arms and a separate lower rigid rod secured to the other of said rods, each of said rods supporting a latching member, a spring associated with one of said rods for normally urging both said rods simultaneously outward to maintain said latching members in latching position, a pivotally mounted manually actuated panic bar, said panic bar having means engaging one of said rods for simultaneously retracting both said rods inwardly toward each other with their respective latching members while compressing said spring to release said door for opening, a lever pivotally supported adjacent said upper rod for engaging the door jamb when the door is in closed position to render said lever ineffective, said lever adapted when said door is moved away from the door jamb and said upper rod is retracted to pivot to engage said upper rod to lock said upper and lower rods in retracted position until said lever is again in engagement with the door jamb at which time said lever is again rendered ineffective and said upper and lower rods and their latching members are urged outwardly by said spring to position said latching members in latching position.

3. In locking means for a door which. is hingedly secured to a door jamb, said locking means comprising a pair of gear members in constant mesh, means for supporting each gear member on a separate pivot, each of said gear members having an arm extending laterally therefrom, an upper rigid rod secured to one of said arms and a separate lower rigid rod secured to the other of said arms, each o fvsaid rods supporting a latching member, a spring associated with one of said rods for normally urging both said rods simultaneously outward to maintain said latching members in latching position, a pivotally mounted manually actuated panic bar, said panic bar having means engaging one of said rods for simultaneously retracting both said rods inwardly toward each other With their respective latching members while compressing said spring to release said door for opening, said panic bar when fully depressed adapted to fully retract said rods and their latching members and when partially depressed adapted to retract said rods and their latching members to an intermediate position, a lever pivotally supported adjacent said upper rod for engaging the door jamb when the door is in closed position to render said lever ineflective, said upper rod having a pair of members engageable by said lever in either of two positions, said lever adapted when said door is moved away from the door jamb and said upper rod is retracted to pivot to engage one or the other of the pair of members on said upper rod to lock said upper and lower rods in either fully or intermediate retracted positions until said lever is again in engagement with the door References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 267,398 Black Nov. 14, 1882 1,039,734 Hannum et al. Oct. 1, 1912 1,203,965 Bogenberger Nov. 7, 1916 1,431,562 Belles Oct. 10, 1922 1,516,628 Blackwell Nov. 25, 19 24 1,518,187 Dyer Dec. 9, 1924 1,994,095 Caldwell Mar. 12, 1935 2,202,075 Yoe May 28,- 1940 2,781,218 Jewett Feb. 12, 1957 2,824,440 Jewett et a1. Feb. 25, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,674 Great Britain May 18, 1907 585,442 Great Britain Feb. 6, 1 947 

